Cian Flaherty

As Ireland prepares to hold a May referendum on the Irish constitution’s anti-abortion amendment, the youth vote is front and centre of the debate – and young activists on both sides are gearing up for a fight.

A previous national referendum in 1983 approved the Irish constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which recognised an unborn child’s right to life. Women who have an abortion in Ireland can face up to 14 years in prison – leading thousands of women each year to seek to terminate their pregnancies in England and Wales.